Marvel's Avengers: Ultron Reloaded
by P.J. Lowry
Summary: It was assumed that Ultron had been defeated, and all trace of him was wiped off the face of the Earth. Yet one robot managed to get out of the ruins of Sokovia, and start over again.
1. Chapter 1

What a difference a day made. One day the city was there, and the next day it was gone. Novi Grad was the capital of Sokovia until most of the city was lifted out of the ground and into the sky by robot that had gone completely mental. One issue no one considered when bringing up the idea of artificial intelligence was that intelligence and emotion can sometime lead to insanity and even psychosis. Even though Ultron's plans were foiled by the Avengers and the people were evacuated by Shield on their hellicarrier, the battle served a heavy price for humanity to pay. The loss of life in Novi Grad wasn't very high, as most of the people who died that day were the ones in the part of the city that was not lifted into the sky. When the rest of the city exploded in air, the massive pieces of rock and debris fell to the ground and crushed many people who were still trying to evacuate from the rest of the city. The remaining piece of the city was flattened, which pretty much completed the total destruction of the capital. The damage had been estimated by economists to be in the neighborhood of half a trillion dollars. Without a government to run the nation, Sokovia's currency plummeted, and riots started to break out all over the country. The people needed someone to blame for what had happened and the easiest target was the Avengers.

The public was unaware it was a robot that had tried to wipe out all mankind, as they had wrongly assumed the big shiny machine was a robotic suit like Iron Man. When media reported that the big shiny thing was actually Artificial Intelligence, that was when it all hit the proverbial fan. The people took to the streets and began to protest their governments, calling for laws to ban future attempts to create any kind of artificial intelligence. The fact that the first AI ever created had attempted to cause an extinction level event made the public afraid, and they demanded that the UN step forward and ban any attempt to recreate the deadly machine. Since the government was never consulted with regards to AI's creation, it wasn't difficult to convince the politicians that the ban was legitimate for the survival of the human race. Congress passed the bill with record bi-partisan support, and President Ellis made it clear that he would not only support the bill but would sign it the moment it reached his desk and make it law. It would ban all future attempts to create any kind of artificial intelligence, an initiative that The UN also picked up and ratified with record support. The new enemy was AI, but the public still had no idea what inventor brought this menace into the world, and Shield was pulling every string and favor they had to keep it that way.

Things came to a head when the Avengers were called to the White-house to explain everything to President Ellis who was determined to figure out what happened not only to cover the United States for any liability, but also the Avengers if it was within his powers. When the team arrived, not everyone was there as only three people came to the oval office. Almost two months after the incident in Sokovia, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark and Nick Fury entered the oval office to speak with Ellis.

"Fury?" the president called out, as he stood up from his chair. He looked clearly surprised to see him. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"I still am," Fury replied, smiling back at him. "The official record will show I was never here."

"Then I can assume that was your hellicarrier that saved the people Novi Gand last month?" The president asked.

"It belongs to Shield," Fury replied, "And despite our best efforts to save as many people as we could, there was still an unacceptable loss of life. For that Mr. President, I am sorry."

"You still saved a lot of lives," The President said, "But what we're here to discuss is what put those lives in danger in the first place."

"You mean Ultron?" Rogers asked, speaking for the first time.

"That was its name," Ellis replied, "Ultron?"

"Yes, Sir." Rogers confirmed.

"So, if it had a name then it really was self aware." Ellis said, walking around from behind his desk. "Be straight with me gentlemen. I need to know everything that you know. I'm not kidding: I want every detail or I will not hesitate to toss you and the Avengers under the bus. I'm willing to cover for you guys, but there cannot be any surprises. Hold nothing back."

"That's why we're here, Mr. President." Fury replied, "Not only so you can spin it to protect the nation but to reassure the world and congress that something like this will never happen again."

"You're uncharacteristically quiet, Mr. Stark." Ellis said, looking over at Stark. "What do you have to say about this?"

Tony looked back at the President. "At the moment; I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Ellis asked, eager to know what he meant.

Tony took a deep breath and sighed. "For inventing Ultron."

"Ultron was your doing?" Ellis said, as he could hardly believe what he was hearing. "Oh, I should have known. Only you would be so brilliant and also yet so damn arrogant! Dammit, Tony!"

"I get it," Stark said, ready to take his licks. "You're upset."

"I have every right to be upset!" Ellis screamed at Stark. "My god man, what the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking about my mortality." Tony answered, "I was worried about what might happen when my luck ran out, and there was no more Iron Man or worse: no more Avengers."

"By why?" Ellis pleaded. "Haven't you seen enough terminator movies to realize this what a bad idea his is?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. President." Stark softly repeated, "I wanted to create an Avenger that couldn't grow old, one who could protect the Earth from the next alien invasion."

"That's a noble cause," The President confessed, "So explain to me how Ultron shifted from being our protector to Skynet?"

"That was a small error that just got a tad out of hand," Tony confessed.

"At tad?" Ellis repeated, "He almost caused an extinction level event!"

"Almost being the key word here, Mr. President." Fury added.

"Ultron was asked to defend the Earth." Tony explained, "He took that directive a little too literal. I should have asked Ultron to protect humanity, rather than the actual planet. It was that one word that caused this entire problem."

"Ultron was defending the Earth," Ellis repeated, as he went silent thinking about it for a moment, "Ultron determined that humanity was the biggest threat to the earth, didn't he?"

"That is correct, Sir." Rogers confirmed.

"If that isn't a good reason to go green," Ellis suggested, "I don't know what is."

"We took care of it Mr. President." Fury reminded him. "Regardless of who created Ultron, the threat has been neutralized."

"Alright," Ellis said, "So right now no one knows that Stark was responsible for creating the robot that almost ended the world and caused half a trillion dollars in damage to a small nation that's on the verge of total collapse. Am I getting this right so far, gentlemen?"

"Mr. President," Tony started, "There's something else we haven't told you."

"There's more?" Ellis said, looking around with wide eyes. "You guys actually know something about this mess that I don't?"

"Yes, Sir." Fury confirmed, "And it's a doozy."

"Son of a bitch," Ellis said, as he felt the urge to order a stiff drink. "Alright, just spit it out. Rip it off like a Band-Aid."

"I didn't just invent Artificial Intelligence," Tony explained, "I built two."

The President sat there in stunned silence. He looked back at Fury, as he could barely form the next sentence.

"When was the second AI activated?" He softly asked.

"Sir?" Fury asked.

"Was it made before or after the first one went mental?" Ellis demanded.

"After," Tony admitted.

"Jesus, Tony!" The president cussed, "Wasn't one Ultron enough? How the hell can I assure the people that Ultron number two isn't as psycho as its predecessor?"

"That's not the case this time," Fury said, trying to assure him.

"And he doesn't like to be called Ultron," Rogers corrected.

"What do we call him, then?" Ellis asked.

"He's the Vision," Rogers replied, "And he's a member of my team."

"And he helped us," Tony added, "We wouldn't have defeated Ultron without him. Vision is the only reason why Ultron wasn't able to launch our nukes and start World War Three, and he's also the reason why Ultron wasn't able to use the internet to escape Sokovia. The world owes their lives to our second AI. Ultron was going to use Vison's body to upgrade himself to a stronger shell. We took it away to prevent Ultron from making himself more powerful, and then used that body to help us defeat him."

"Okay," Ellis said, processing the details. "This Vision is on our side?"

"He is," Fury assured him.

"And that's it?" Ellis said, pointing at tony. "No more self-sustaining robots from here on out, Mr. Stark?"

"Yes, Sir." Rogers confirmed, "We can assure you that Vision will be the last AI invented on planet Earth."

"How can you assure that?" Ellie asked, "What will stop someone else from walking down the same path Stark did?"

"Because they don't have the stone," Stark replied.

"What stone?" Ellis asked.

"There's this yellow stone," Stark explained, "Thor called it an infinity stone. This stone is the only thing that allowed me to bring both Ultron and Vision to life. It's the magic ingredient."

"Without the stone," Fury added, "It is impossible for anyone else to replicate Tony's work."

"Where is this infinity stone right now?" Ellis asked.

"It's attached to Vision's head." Rogers answered, "No one is going to be able to get their hands on it. The only way that will be possible is over Vision's dead body, and over mine as well."

Ellis took a deep breath. "That's the best news I've heard all day. So as long as Vision keeps this stone and doesn't go Skynet, our AI issues are truly over?"

"That's an affirmative, Sir." Rogers replied, "Vision has proven himself beyond any doubt. He's on our side and as long as he keeps that stone, they'll be no more Ultrons."

"Alright, I think I can make this work." Ellis said, looking over at Tony. "But you're stepping down."

"Excuse me?" Tony said, looking back with a shocked face.

"If this ever leaks, we need distance." Ellis explained, "You can continue your work in a private capacity, but you can't have any official association with this government or the Avengers."

"Are you sure about that, Sir?" Fury asked.

"I am," the President replied, "I'm sorry Tony, but you need to officially step down from the Avengers. Just tell everyone you're getting too old for this shit and are leaving it to the young guns to move forward."

"The young guns?" Tony repeated, pointing at Rogers. "You do realize that this man is over ninety years old, right?"

Ellis looked over at Rogers. "You've aged well, Captain."

"Thank you, Sir." Rogers said.

"Let me get this straight," Ellis said, as he circled back behind his desk. "The only thing that brought Ultron and Vision to life was this stone."

"An infinity stone," Fury reminded him.

"Alright, an infinity stone," Ellis repeated, "Are there any other stones like this on planet Earth?"

"Not that I'm aware of, Mr. President." Fury answered.

"And Ultron was taken care of, and is completely out of the picture?" Ellis asked, covering all his bases.

"Yes, Sir." Rogers again reassured him. "Ultron has been taken care of."

"That's all I needed to hear," Ellis said, walking back around behind his desk. "I'll make sure we put in an amendment to the anti-Ultron legislation, grandfathering Vision in before the A.I. ban takes effect. Please tell me he was at least born here in the United States."

"Yes, Sir. In Stark Tower," Stark answered, "New York City."

"Alright," Ellis said, "Since he's an American, I'll make sure he's granted full citizenship. As far as anyone else is concerned, he's just a weird looking superhero. The fact that Vision is AI will be classified at the highest levels from here on out. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sir." Fury replied.

"I appreciate that, Sir." Rogers said, "And so does The Vision."

"If the Vision helped you stop Ultron," Ellis continued, "Then it's the least I can do for him on behalf of a grateful nation. With that being said, you're dismissed."

"Thank you, Mr. President." Rogers said as he saluted his commander in chief.

Ellis watched as the three men left the room, and he sat back down on his chair behind the big wooden desk. He took a deep breath before picking up the phone.

"Can I help you, Mr. President?" The voice one the other end said the moment he picked up the receiver.

"Call the kitchen" Ellis replied, "Tell them I want a Roast Beef sandwich, with a slice of harvardi, honey mustard, and don't they dare go light on the horseradish. I also want a Jack and Coke, make it a double."

"But Sir," the lady other side protested, "It's almost eleven in the evening."

"I don't give a shit," the President replied, "I want it here in ten minutes!"

"Yes, Mr. President." The lady replied just before he hung up.

Ellis sighed again as put down the phone and looked at the door that two of Earth's mightiest heroes just walked out of. He was still trying to process what they had dropped on his lap and what consequences might have if any of it were to become public knowledge. Ellis couldn't help but sit there in silence and think about it until his food and drink arrived. He took a long sip and breathed deeply again.

"The Vision," He repeated himself, "Where do they come up with these names?"


	2. Chapter 2

Stark had taken his punishment like a man, stepping down from the avengers and clearing out his place at headquarters and saying goodbye to everyone. Tony wasn't worried about the Avengers because the squad looked rather impressive considering the members it lost. With Tony being asked to not be in any official capacity and Bruce tailing off in a jet, and Thor leaving to inquire about the infinity stones… things still looked promising. Cap and widow co-leading a team of War Machine, Scarlet Witch, Vision, and Falcon was still a formidable squad. Tony would always make himself available should the situation called for it, but now as he drove away from Avengers HQ he couldn't help but think about the many things he could do with his spare time. That included giving Pepper some long overdue attention and not being the always busy sorry excuse for a boyfriend he had been for the last few years. Yet when Stark had arrived back at the city about an hour later, there was a large number of reporters at the entrance to Stark Tower. More than usual at least. Many of them were screaming questions as he slowly waited for the parking entrance to open.

"Did you invent the robot, Mr. Stark?"

"How involved were you in creating the killer machine?"

"How much do you know, and when did you know it?"

Tony didn't say a thing and waited for security to come out and clear the way for him to enter the parking garage. As he pulled up to his parking space beside the elevator, he noticed the car that indicated that Pepper was still home in the middle of the day. The lectures he had been taking all week were not going to stop, at least not any time soon. Stark took a deep breath and took the lift up to the floor he knew Pepper would be waiting for him. As he walked into the foyer, the damage from the first battle with Ultron was still present but someone at least had taken the time to clear out the robots that Thor and Cap has smashed to bits. Still it had looked like a frat house had been partying in Stark Tower for a week. Pepper stood up from the couch she was sitting on as Tony emerged from the elevator. She had a look on her face a parent would give a child if her house was made a seriously trashed while she was out for the weekend, with her arms folded.

"I know this looks bad," Tony started, "But I can assure you it's far worse that anything you can think of. Technically this is Thor's fault. He brought this sick alcohol with him all the way from Asguard, and I think it's like a hundred proof. I don't recommend it, seriously bad aftertaste."

Pepper didn't respond and continued to gaze at him.

"I didn't do any of this, well… maybe that dent over there." Tony continued, "But it's an easy fix. I'll even do it all myself, no hired help."

"I watched the security videos," Pepper finally replied, "Who is Ultron?"

"Oh shit," Tony said, sighing deeply. "I'm really not allowed to talk about it."

"Excuse me," Pepper said, her face now surprised, "According to whom?"

"The President of the United States." Tony replied, "Everything about Ultron, even his name has been classified."

"Answer the question, Tony." Pepper insisted.

Tony did a quick check to make sure no one was listening as he walked closer to her. "Ultron is the name of the AI everyone is talking about. The big baddie that tried to end the world. He has the ability to hack into anything with ease, and that night when I had the big party he hacked into my robots and used them to pre-emptively attack the Avengers. Try to take us out before he unleashed his big plan."

"How did he get around Jarvis?" Pepper asked.

"Jarvis was the first victim of the attack," Tony answered, "He's gone."

Pepper held her hands up to her mouth, she had wondered why Jarvis hadn't greeted her when she arrived but had no idea the voice that had always been in the tower. She was so used to him being around that the idea felt so foreign.

"He's dead?" she asked him.

"I thought it was," Tony corrected her, "But he's not. He's just found a new home. He's kind of at Avengers HQ and will probably be there for a while."

"The press has spent days accusing you of being Ultron's inventor." Pepper added, "Is it true? Are you responsible for this psychotic Pinocchio trying to take out the whole world?"

"I might be on the short list of anyone on Earth smart enough," Tony said, "But there is no evidence that I had anything to do with it."

"Besides the fact that he was right here, in this room?" Pepper asked.

"I told you he attacked us." Tony repeated.

"Tell me the truth," Pepper said as she walked closer and folder her arms again. "Did you invent Ultron?"

"It's not true," Tony answered, "Bruce kind of helped."

"TONY!" Pepper cried, as she punched his arm as hard as she could.

"I'm sorry," Tony said, taking his licks without complaint. "Things got a little out of control. We fixed it though and the world is safe now."

"Say that to the people of Sokovia!" Pepper roared at him.

Pepper was about to rip into Tony again, but something caught her attention. She watched with stunned silence as the green and red figure with the yellow cape flew over to the platform outside and softly landed. As he slowly walked into the room, Pepper was speechless.

"Honey," Tony said, trying to get ahead of her. "This is the Vision. He's the newest member of the Avengers."

"Hello again, Ms. Potts." The Vision said to her. The moment he spoke the words, Pepper recognized him almost immediately.

"Jarvis!" Pepper said, as she walked over to look at him.

"Vision will be fine, Ms. Potts." He corrected her, "I believe the location of my new matrix was recently classified by the President."

"Tony," Pepper said, looking back at him. "Did you make this one too?"

"Technically, no." Tony replied.

"Technically?" Pepper repeated.

"Ultron invented this body," Vision answered for him, "He was going to upload himself into this stronger frame which is made of anamatium from Wakanda. Had he successfully done that, the Avengers never would have been able to defeat him. He would have been too powerful."

"This was a use it or lose it situation, babe." Tony explained, jumping in to help Vision out. "We uploaded Jarvis in so that Ultron couldn't use it. He even helped us defeat Ultron in Sokovia!"

"The world is safe, Ms. Potts." Vision added, "Everything will be alright."

Pepper took a deep breath. "I need a drink."

"I'll get it," Tony said as he dashed off for the bar.

"I'm sorry Ms. Potts," Vision said to her, "We were dealing with powers that we didn't fully understand. Infinity stones were never meant to be in human hands. I am a little grateful though, as I am not more than just a program. I'm now an Avenger."

"Wow," Pepper said as she took the tall drink from Tony, taking a massive swig from it. "I'm happy for you Jarvis. But what's an infinity stone?"

"That is," Tony said, pointing at the yellow stone in his forehead. "That's the mind stone and it's the magic ingredient to creating A.I."

"And as long as I carry the stone," Vision confirmed, "No one else can create their own Ultron. The world is safe from killer robots."

Pepper didn't respond and chose to finish her drink with another big gulp.

Vision turned back to face Tony, "I must head back to headquarters. I'm sure the Captain is wondering where I am. The new team was only supposed to take a short break."

"Jarvis, wait!" Pepper called out as she walked closer to him. She was hesitant at first but she leaned in and gave Vision a hug. She had known Jarvis so long and it was the first time they were able to do something like that.

"It was nice to see you again, Ms. Potts." Vision said, before floating up into the air and flying out of the tower into the sky to head back to Avenger HQ.

Pepper wiped a tear from her eye and then looked back at Tony.

"You're still in big trouble, mister!" she chided at him.

"Totally understandable," Tony conceded.

"I recommend cleaning off the couch," Pepper added, "You'll be sleeping there tonight."

"Seriously?" Tony cried, "There are at least two hundred spare bedrooms in this building!"

"That may be," Pepper replied, "But you're still sleeping there."

Tony sighed, "Yes Ma'am."

Stark has spent the rest of the day fixing the place up. The first thing he did was repair communications system in the building as it had been damaged during the Avenger's first clash with Ultron. This also allowed Tony to re-activate Victoria's access to the building and replace Jarvis as the house intelligence. Potts wasn't as offended by the new voice in the house, joking that she was proud a woman was promoted to take over for Jarvis. As Tony was cleaning up around his temporary sleeping space, he was interrupted by his new subordinate.

"Mr. Stark," Victoria started, "The President speaking to the press."

"What about it?" Tony asked, as he had had enough of President Ellis.

"He's speaking about you," she informed him.

Tony hopped off the couch. "Replay on main screen."

The big screen changed to show the one on one interview that President Ellis was giving to response to the rumors and paranoia going around the country about what was being labelled the 'World-killer robot'.

"There's a very short list of men that are smart enough to pull this off." The reporter started, "That list includes people like Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Tony Stark. Do you have any knowledge of who might have created the World-killer Robot?"

"I do not," President Ellis lied. It came so easy to politicians. If Tony hadn't known the truth, he might have believed him.

"You know what?" Ellis added, "If Stark had built this thing, hypothetically speaking, I'd have more respect for the man… not less."

"Why do you say that?" the reporter asked.

"There's no evidence to suggest he is responsible," Ellis reminded the reporter and the nation, "But if Stark did invent that machine, that means he was its father. Be honest with me: would you be able to sacrifice your own child to protect your country… or the world for that matter?"

The reporter was speechless, as he was unable to answer the question.

"I didn't think so," Ellis continued, "I'm not sure I could either. Do you think Tony Stark has the constitution to cross that line? Does anyone?"

"Turn off the screen," Tony said, as the room dimmed a bit after the massive screen went dark. Tony was going to hit the kitchen to get something to eat when he noticed that Pepper had returned and was watching the interview with him.

"I never thought of it like that," Pepper started, "You created life, and then you had to destroy it."

"I really didn't think of it that way either," Tony replied, which was a bald-faced lie. He had jokingly referred to himself as Ultron's old man when the Avengers had confronted the machine in Africa. He had never hesitated to destroy Ultron or try to whenever he had the chance, but that didn't mean it was easy.

"I'm so sorry you had to do that," Pepper said, as she was starting to tear up.

"In all honestly Ultron was being a really bad boy," Stark said, trying to make light of it and put on a good face. "He was trying to wipe out the human race. We really didn't have much of a choice. It was him or everybody else."

Pepper didn't reply but instead walked over and gave Tony a big hug, and even felt a tear stream down his own check as he suffered in silence. They both didn't say a word and stood there holding each other tight for what seemed like a long time but was only a few minutes. A moment of silence for the passing of Tony's first child.


End file.
